Nashua mayor pegs budget money for crosswalks, snow fund

By JIM HADDADIN

Staff Writer

NASHUA – Mayor Donnalee Lozeau is targeting crosswalks and the city’s Snow Trust Fund for some of the money left over from last year’s budget.

In her annual list of escrow requests, Lozeau is asking the Board of Aldermen to approve shifting a little more than $750,000 worth of unspent money from the previous year to cover the cost of new projects and services. ...
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NASHUA – Mayor Donnalee Lozeau is targeting crosswalks and the city’s Snow Trust Fund for some of the money left over from last year’s budget.

In her annual list of escrow requests, Lozeau is asking the Board of Aldermen to approve shifting a little more than $750,000 worth of unspent money from the previous year to cover the cost of new projects and services.

The Board of Aldermen will formally receive a list of the mayor’s escrow requests at its regular meeting Tuesday night. Aldermen must approve any request to use unspent money from the previous year for a different purpose in the new fiscal year.

The mayor’s wish list includes $210,000 for crosswalks, with a focus on Concord and Manchester streets. Lozeau is asking city officials to devote $100,000 left over in the line item for operational expenses in the Division of Public Works to pay for the crosswalk improvements.

The mayor also is requesting to use $70,000 left over in the line for operational expenses in the Streets Department, combined with $40,000 that was set aside last year for fire hydrants.

Lozeau’s other big target in the escrow list is replenishing the Snow Trust Fund, which helps pay for plowing, sanding and salting in the winter. The fund took a hit during a series of substantial snowstorms this year.

Lozeau is asking aldermen to move $260,000 left over in the previous year’s budget into the Snow Trust Fund. Money would come from the salary line for the fire department, combined with $90,000 from the city’s contingency account and $40,000 that was budgeted for welfare assistance.

Some of the mayor’s other escrow requests include funds to pay for the design of an addition to the Spit Brook Road Fire Station, improvements to the aldermanic chamber at City Hall, and retrofit work at the city’s transit garage to accommodate new vehicles that run on compressed natural gas.

Lozeau has already approved a variety of other escrows that will keep money in the same budget category for which it was previously appropriated. Those escrows include $367,000 for capital improvements, nearly $775,000 from the general fund and an additional $1 million that was already being held in escrow.

The Board of Aldermen is scheduled to take up the escrow list for a first reading at its regular meeting Tuesday, which begins at 7:30 p.m.

Jim Haddadin can be reached at 594-6589 or jhaddadin@nashuatelegraph.com. Also, follow Haddadin on Twitter (@Telegraph_JimH).